Powered surgical tools, for example powered surgical saws and/or drills, are powered tools that surgeons employ for performing certain surgical procedures that include cutting and/or drilling bones and/or other tissues. A powered surgical tool typically comprises a handpiece, or driver, in which is housed a motor, for example an electrically or pneumatically driven motor. The motor is attached, for example through a drive shaft, to a head of the driver, which is adapted to removably receive a surgical tool, for example a saw blade or a drill bit. Depending on the configuration of the driver and/or the nature of the attached tool, the actuation of the motor causes an oscillating or rotating movement of the head and thus of the tool.
Powered surgical tools, in particular those with an electrically driven motor, usually comprise one or more batteries providing the electrical power necessary for driving the motor. The batteries are often contained in a housing having an opening for allowing the insertion and removal of the batteries therein, and for example a door for closing, preferably hermetically closing, the opening. The battery housing is often removably attached to the driver.
An advantage of removable batteries, is that they can be easily taken out of the powered tool, for example before sterilization. Indeed, while sterilization of the powered surgical tool is required for the patients' safety, electrical batteries often suffer from the related heat and humidity conditions that can lead to a significant loss of power. After and/or before an operation, the batteries are thus preferably taken out of the battery housing, which is then sterilized, for example in an autoclave, while the batteries are cleaned and disinfected. The batteries are then inserted again in to the sterilized battery housing and the housing is closed, thus forming a battery pack which is sterile on its outside despite containing non sterile battery or batteries.
Furthermore, the battery housing being for example removably attached to the driver of the powered tool, the battery pack can easily be replaced, if necessary, during an operation and inside an operation room, because no access to the unsterile batteries is necessary. If for any reasons the batteries need replacement, the battery housing can be detached from the driver and replaced by a fresh and sterile battery pack, without contamination risk for the patient. No battery housing thus needs to be opened for replacing batteries.
However, since the batteries inside the battery housing are not sterile, a contamination risk still exists if for example the battery housing inadvertently opens or remains open in the operation room, in particular if it opens or remained partly opened while the tool to which it is attached is being used.
There is thus a need for a battery housing and a corresponding powered surgical tool that can avoid any risk of contamination by preventing in particular the battery housing from being opened while the powered tool is being used.